How to Make Group Fitness Classes More Effective

95% of women come to the gym to get "toned" which actually does not mean anything.  What most women mean is that they want to strategically reduce body fat and have more defined muscles without bulking.   
What that means in terms of activities is a mix of cardiovascular and resistance work.  So you sign up for a weights class on Monday and spin Tuesday or you join your friend for a boot camp in the park, and lose a few pounds, but never accomplish your goals.  Here is why.

Proper squat form: knees behind toes, heels on
the ground and chest up.  Use your inner thigh
to keep toes and knees facing forward.

You are not using proper form.
It only makes sense that to see results you have to do the exercise correctly.  Proper form is also the only way to ensure safety.  So if squats hurt your knees more than your glutes and your quads, after class, ask your instructor to look at your form or hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to practice proper execution of basic exercises.  Learning more about form will further develop your understanding of what muscles are being targeted and should be firing, thus allowing you to get more from the exercises.

You are hiding in the back.
Mirrors are generally at the front and they are not there for vanity but form (see above).  Also, it is amazing how feeling like you are being watched can get you through the last set of pushups. In the back, when the going gets tough, the tough take a longer water break. 
This does not mean that newbies should be on the front row; your confusion will be noticed by teachers and fellow-students alike and will not win you friends.  Simply be far enough forward that you can see the mirror and try to have a clear sight-line to the instructor.

You are tuning out your instructor.
Assume that everything that the instructor says is meant for you.  Good instructors know thirty ways to cue proper form for a given exercise, but we choose which ones we use based upon the issues we see.  So when you hear us repeat something, check your form to ensure that you are not the reason that our soundtrack is stuck.

You forgot to pick up weights.
Women are taught that weights are for men and cause women to bulk.  Wrong.  Bulking is dependent on testosterone production and a deliberate weight regimen, so it does not happen easily for anyone and is even more difficult for women.  Women actually need weights more than men because we are walking a shorter road to bone and muscle loss as we age, so choose challenging weight for vanity now and health later, unless you have specific health concerns. 
Some of you want to stand up as the exception to bulking, so let me burst your bubble.  Women often perceive of themselves as bulking, when they are actually building muscle that is still covered by too much fat.  The best remedy?  More weights.  Muscle burns fat long after you have left the gym, where cardio stops at the door, so do not give up on lifting because you think you are bulking.  Remember the scale may actually reinforce your perception of bulking, as muscle weighs more than fat.     

You are just going through the motions.
You go to the same class every week and do the same routine with the same resistance.  Your body has plateaued and you mind is bored.  Luckily, both problems have the same solution: change your routine.  Dare to take a new class or set a goal that will require training, but find a way to break the habit.
If you deliberately come to class to do the bare minimum and never seek to push yourself, I would encourage greater soul searching than "do I train for an adventure race or longer distance?"  While it is great that you are exercising, if you hate the class and do not try, not only do you benefit little from your time, but you demotivate everyone around you, including the instructor.  Yes, the truth is out, how good our class is is dependent upon the energy of our students.   


Instructors understand that people are insecure about their bodies, which is only heightened by wearing spandex and bouncing up and down in a bright room of mirrors.  After all, we are we really do have people watching and judging us, where students merely fear it.  We do not share these little hints because we do not want to make you feel like you are doing something wrong in your moment of greatest insecurity.  If you still question moving to the front or fear having to put down the heavier weights that you have attempted to complete a set, the final truth may help; good instructors love those who push and try; you are why we teach.  It is only those who do not try that will cause us to roll our eyes as the mic comes off.

Have more questions about group fitness?  Just ask!